In a new research study led by a Massachusetts General Hospital psychologist, adolescent outpatients who attend community-based 12-step programs for up to a year were shown to have significantly better substance abuse outcomes, supporting the value of this resource for young participants.

The current study, led by John F. Kelly, PhD, from the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, was published online April 16 and in the July print issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

In the online report in Medscape News, the participants were followed for a year beyond treatment. "Importantly, going to AA/NA meetings helped these adolescents achieve sobriety, irrespective of whether their initial goal at treatment entry was to stay completely abstinent or not," the researchers concluded.

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